Never one to shy away from making headlines for her bold prosecutorial moves, the Empire State's top law enforcement officer has made her way into the spotlight once more.

New York Attorney General Letitia James last week announced a sprawling, 625-count indictment in which she accuses five defendants of the unlawful sale of “ghost guns” and other weapons in what she said was a firearms trafficking operation, as Newsweek reports.

NY AG announces indictment

The well-known and often-controversial New York AG issued a press release on Wednesday outlining the contours of the blockbuster indictment.

According to James' office, the operation that led to the indictment yielded the recovery of 86 guns, a tally which included 55 so-called “ghost guns,” 25 additional assault-style weapons, 90 high-capacity magazines, and a significant volume of ammunition.

“Ghost gun” is a term used to describe homemade weapons constructed from parts often purchased online.

They are perceived by many as especially problematic in that they are difficult to trace due to their lack of serial numbers and the absence of background checks that would otherwise be conducted prior to a gun purchase, and James asserted that they are known to “fuel violence that tears communities apart.”

Comprehensive operation leads to charges

According to the press release from James' office, it was an investigation led by the Organized Crimes Task Force (OCTF) that led to the charges the defendants now face.

The AG's office noted, “The individuals involved in the operation transported 3D-printed ghost guns assembled in Nassau County and serialized firearms purchased in Indiana to Queens, where they were stored and sold.”

The probe was initiated in late 2023, and the eventual takedown of defendants Satveer Saini, Mateo-Castro-Agudelo, Hargeny Fernandez-Gonzalez, Adam Youssef Senhaji-Rivas, and Milanjit Sidhu was a collaborative effort involving the OCTF, Homeland Security Investigations New York, as well as the New York City Police Department.

According to the AG's press release, the investigation process encompassed “controlled firearms purchase operations, covert video surveillance, social media monitoring, and analysis of financial and telephone records.”

James' office noted that all five defendants face charges of Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree and/or Criminal Possession of a Firearm in the First Degree, both class B violent felonies that could bring upwards of 25 years in prison upon conviction.

James' tenure courts controversy

The attorney general's time in office has been marked by a series of high-profile cases and positions, perhaps most notably her pursuit of former President Donald Trump in a civil fraud case involving his real estate business.

She has also drawn the ire of conservatives in recent days for her decision to sue Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman over a regulation within his jurisdiction banning biological males from participating in sporting events designated for females at county parks and facilities, as Fox News noted.

The move sparked public criticism from former NCAA swimming standout and activist Riley Gaines, who spoke on the matter at last week's Republican National Convention, telling the outlet, “I wish I could say I was surprised by the actions of the attorney general, but as we have seen from her history, this doesn't surprise me,” adding that “the message being sent by those such as the attorney general of New York, is that girls don't matter, is that our safety doesn't matter, and our sports, our privacy doesn't matter in our locker rooms, and our equal opportunities don't matter.”